From the moment Margaret Lampert first picked up a camera she had an innate ability to put her subjects at ease. As she looks through the lens, Margaret is always watching and waiting for a moment; a lived-in moment the viewer can sense as honest and true. “Through these moments I endeavor to tell a story, ask a few questions and draw the viewer in. I’ve begun to realize the power of these moments comes from my own desire to connect; to create some sort of relationship between myself, the camera and my subject.” It is this ‘relationship’ between photographer and subject that sets Margaret apart. Perhaps most importantly, it is this connection that allows her to consistently identify and capture moments of pure human experience in which we find a thread of our own story.
When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, most of us began sheltering in place. Stuck inside, our only view of the world was through our windows. While most people were inside looking out, I ventured out to look in. Given the inherent risks of exposure to the virus and the constraints of social distancing, I returned to a way of working I had fallen in love with over the years: making portraits through various surfaces. This approach enables me to tell a richer, more layered story, often incorporating both the inside and outside of a subject’s environment. There is something about the mysterious and painterly qualities inherent when one shoots ‘through’ windows or screens that feels timeless and seemed to effectively capture the experience of living through a pandemic when time was so indistinct and our lives felt somewhat suspended. Spending time with my subjects, even though always at a distance, was a bright spot in an otherwise dark and uncertain time.
Gladstone is pleased to present The Space Between, a compelling selection of work from Margaret’s Covid project.
instagram @margaret_lampert